An eclectic approach recognizes the legitimacy and validity of
competing perspectives. It does not stick to one perspective all the time
and on all issues; rather it draws on elements from multiple perspectives
to tackle complex issues at hand. It is particularly useful when there is
a need to legitimize and promote reform and change because eclecticism
is more pragmatic but remains principled to the followers, as it justifies
change by appealing eclectically to existing philosophies that resonate
with followers. The diversity of Chinese philosophies provides plenty
of room for the eclectic approach. For instance, there is a variety of
leadership styles in Chinese firms (Tsuiet al., 2004 ). Although rela-
tionalism and leader–member relationships continue to be important
in Chinese leadership and management (Hui and Graen, 1997 ; Wang
et al., 2005 ), counter elements such as the importance of the rule of
law, procedural justice, and merit and equity-based rewards have also
been appealed to by reformist leaders and accepted by organizational
members (e.g. Chen, Chen, and Xin, 2004 ; He, Chen, and Zhang,
2004 ). The same can be said about respect for hierarchy and parti-
cipative leadership. Although unequal relationship and respect for
hierarchy is a persistent Confucian tradition, concepts of equality,
democracy, and participation from Daoism, Maoism, and imported
Western management practices are quite salient and there is evidence
that delegation and power-sharing have positive effects on the atti-
tudes and behaviors of Chinese subordinates (Chen and Aryee, 2007 ;
Zhang, Chen, and Wang, 2007 ).
Further examples of eclecticism can be found in the political leader-
ship of the Chinese Communist Party. Mao appealed to Legalism and
Marxism against Confucianism and capitalism for his ideological
and cultural revolution; Deng appealed to the Chinese traditional values
of collectivism, familism, and modern scientific management to instill
accountability, competition, and economic development (Chen, Meindl,
and Hunt, 1997 ); and now Hu, the current leader of the Communist
party, has drawn from Confucian and Daoist traditions and proposed
his theory of social harmony to address problems of growing inequal-
ity and conflict in China. It would not be surprising if Daoist philo-
sophy of nature were used to address the emerging issues of the
environment.
A holistic leadership approach tackles challenges and issues from
multiple perspectives, recognizing their differential effectiveness but
stressing their complementarity or balance. The ultimate ideal state
Introduction 23